Volume 13 Issue 13 - Eternal Alpha

Posted by Nimrod on August 24, 2015

Our decision to shut down our public forums, though not popular with some will continue to stand until we are ready for Beta. Until then staff will concentrate on fleshing out a complete gameworld that will allow players to push for their goals with very little staff involvement. We are also discussing how best to re-open the forums and whether or not we will at Beta. For now, the respite is giving us all a much needed rest from the toxicity of what our forums had become. We turn inward now to the game and our dedicated players.

Before I delve in to what you can expect from us in the coming months, I’d like to take a moment to let you know what my role is in the game and how we work as a team. It’s my opinion that if we surround ourselves with extremely intelligent people, then we will do well. The team we have now is filled with extremely intelligent and hard-working people. I strive to listen hard to ideas and openly discuss options with our staff, and players. Unfortunately we must say no quite often to great ideas so we may execute and move forward with the great ideas that are already on our plate rather than being caught in the quagmire of endless debate. Someone has to make the final decision, and right now that’s me.

I do not feel that I am the greatest administrator of all time. I don’t even feel that I’m the best admin currently on staff. All of our staff members are much better than I in one way or another. It’s my job to bring all of these brilliant people together to chase a common dream. What I do bring to the table is a willingness to simply say ‘No.’ to the multitude of great ideas that we are bombarded with every day. I also am very committed to the long-term health of this game and establishing a solid foundation from which to build. The personal attacks of the few do wound me greatly, it is not an enjoyable experience to read some of the things that people spew. It literally takes days to recover from the emotional drain that some of these discussions have exacted. The toll is high, but my resolve is re-doubled with each attack. The continued support of the steadfast also give me much relief. A single kind word can erase pages of rhetoric.

Circumstances have conspired to make me the game lead at this time. There is a reason for it, it was not just dropped in to my lap, nor did I come along and steal it from anyone. It was through hard word and sheer determination that we have made it as far as we have, and I have played a part in that. I will execute my duties in as professional a manner as I can and continue to push us towards the dream that is Laketown. I don’t have a seven-year plan, I would never presume such an epic vision as no one knows what the future holds. What I do have is a simple vision for what we, as staff, have for what we want Laketown to become. It is that end that I seek. A solid, well-documented base from which to begin our journey in to the future.

I have made the conscious decision to move forward with the goals that we have right now. I’ve also put a stop to undocumented building and the unchecked growth that had become a major problem for all staff members. These quick additions may be fun for the short term, but if they are left to sprout without a considered plan and documentation they soon (and have) become a chaotic assembly of rooms, mobs, and player expectations. Many of these expectations have been drawn based off of undocumented communications directly with players and groups of players by former staff members. Unfortunately these undocumented promises were made without consulting with other staff members, and are now null and void.

So… what can you expect us to be working on during Alpha? Simply put, you can expect: A more narrowed focus on the foundational matters of the game. Help Files. New Player help systems. A fully functional version of Laketown. A fully functional Artisan’s Union. A fully automated systems to allow players to lay claim to land, houses and shops with zero admin interference. Documentation. Player Rules. Explicit Goals. And last, but not least, Warcraft.

Given that we still consider ourselves to be in Alpha, player port support will not be our priority, although we will be spending quite a bit of time on this. What you may find though, is that any specialized requests may take a significant amount of time, or we may simply say no. Many may feel we are eternally in Alpha, I feel that way myself from time to time. The train has come off the tracks twice now since we began two years ago and some have lost the vision, but we’re now set back on our path and will continue to work hard in the background to arrive at our dream in the near future.

When will this all be done? If you would have asked me a year ago, I would have said a few months. But the absolute importance of having a strong foundation has indelibly made its mark on me over the last year, so I am unable to give an exact date, nor will I speculate. We’ve got the beginnings of a fun game in play already, please take advantage of that for now.

How can you help as a player? Play, engage new players, avoid ooc communications (both in game and out) and concentrate on the setting itself rather than the internal workings of the game. Use the typo command to point out errors. Avoid frivolous use of the petition command and encourage others to keep it in-character as well. Keep the veil up between staff (and the game itself) and your play.